5) ALL OILS CLOG PORES AND PROVOKE ACNEFalse! It is a common belief that oils or products with oils are comedogenic and pore-clogging. This is just not true! Some oils can potentially suffocate the skin, such as mineral oil, but many oils are very good for the skin and won't clog pores and cause acne at all. In fact, many of them clear up acne and reduce your natural oil production, making you less shiny and reducing the amount of pore-clogging material upon your complexion. Oils such as Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Safflower Oil, Jojoba Oil, Soybean Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, and Macadamia Nut Oil are all safe and effective for facial and body skin care.

4) CHOCOLATE AND GREASY FOODS CAUSE BREAKOUTSFalse! There is no evidence indicating that consuming chocolate and greasy foods cause acne breakouts. Love your pizza and your chocolate cake? Have at it without worrying about your complexion. Just don’t rub it on your face, that will probably cause a breakout.

3) THE HIGHER THE SPF THE BETTERFalse! It is unnecessary to use an SPF higher than 15. SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor, but it only refers to protection from UVB rays, which cause burning, and not UVA rays, which cause aging and contribute to melanoma. Make sure to apply your sunscreen at least 15 minutes before exposure to sun, to reapply your often, and to find one that has zinc oxide or titanium dioxide to protect against UVA rays.

2) YOUR SKIN WILL ADAPT TO YOUR PRODUCT AND EVENTUALLY STOP WORKINGFalse! Skin does not get used to skin care products to the point of not working. Eating healthy every day keeps you healthy, just like using a good skin care regimen every day will keep your skin healthy. Your skin may stop improving as much and as quickly as it did when you started using your brilliantly formulated product, but that stands to reason considering it had a lot more work to do when you began than it does a year later. A good product will always be a good product, and while it may not be improving your complexion at the rate it did initially it is maintaining what it gave you to begin with. Moral of the story: if you have something completely fantastic working for you it will keep working for you.

1) SKIN AGES NATURALLY. THE SPEED AT WHICH YOUR SKIN AGES IS DETERMINED BY GENETICS AND CANNOT BE SLOWED.False! Free radicals are the main source of disease and aging. Free radicals are molecules that lack an electron and are searching to fill the void by “stealing” them from other molecules. When they find a molecule to rob they take an electron from it, turning a formerly healthy molecule into a free radical. A chain reaction commences of damaged and damaging molecules. Once this process begins it can cascade and result in the disruption of a living cell. The damaging effects of free radicals contribute to disease and aging including cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, senility, sun damage, age spots, and wrinkles. It is absolutely possible to slow down the effects of aging and the development of the aforementioned results of free radical damage by reducing exposure to free radicals (pollution, smoke) and that which causes the body to form free radicals (sun, stress, drinking, smoking, not getting enough sleep). It has also been proven effective to consume and topically apply antioxidants (esp. vitamin E, vitamin C, beta-carotene and flavonoids) to prevent the formation of free radicals and their electron “stealing” destruction.